Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $15,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 236.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in W.W. Grainger by 9.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,874,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 11.4% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 793 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Northcoast Research began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of W.W. Grainger from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of W.W. Grainger from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1,109.00.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on W.W. Grainger
Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $1,172.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $772.13 and a fifty-two week high of $1,227.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,086.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $992.40.
W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 51.78%. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.23%.
In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Donald G. Macpherson sold 27,502 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.82, for a total value of $27,524,551.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,559 shares in the company, valued at $111,650,478.38. The trade was a 19.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,900 shares of company stock worth $52,640,733 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.
W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.
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